Besides the chill and the wet, your dog is confronted with other risks in wintertime:

Sometimes what’s good for your car can be fatal for your dog for example anti-freeze fluid for the windscreen washer which contains Ethylenglycol that is odorless with a sweet flavour. For this reason dogs will happily lick up spilt or decurrent drops. Unfortunately just a few milliliters of Ethylenglycol are enough to poison a dog so it is advisable never to store anti-freeze fluids within reach of dogs.

Salted roadways can be dangerous too. Penetration of salt into small fissures of the pad can cause serious pain so it is important to treat the paws with vaseline or milking grease continuously. The best time to apply oil would be shortly before a walk. Fat doesn’t only protect from coldness and salt, it also prevents snow lumps from sticking between the toes. After the walk the paws should be cleaned with water and thoroughly dried to prevent inflammation.

Small chunks of ice can remain between the toes of longhaired dogs, especially of those with heavy growth of hair. This can disable them from walking and can cause skin injuries. In order to prevent these issues the hair should be kept short which also facilitates the care and drying after being outside.

Hypothermia: protective and breathable clothing should also be worn by dogs for long stays outside and this is recommended especially in the case of older dogs which cool down faster.

Generally dogs should not eat large quantities of snow as this could cause an inflammation of the gastric mucosa which leads to diarrhea and vomiting.

Bad visibility of the dog: in wintertime most morning walks and evening ones are in darkness and fog during the day makes visibility poor too. Motorists and cyclists can easily lose sight of dogs so that it can endanger itself and others. Flash light collars, reflection on dog coats, harnesses, collars or leads make the dog visible from distance and protect it and others. You should take care the flash light collars don’t blink but have a constant light as blinking collars can sometimes irritate the dog.